Preview is built into every Mac and can handle basic PDF edits without extra software

Preview, the default image and PDF viewer on macOS, includes editing tools that let you annotate, rotate, crop, and rearrange pages in a PDF. You do not need to buy or read anything — it is already on your computer. The edits you make stay in the PDF file itself, so anyone you send it to will see your changes.

Preview works best for straightforward tasks: marking up a document with notes, fixing a rotated page, removing a blank page, or combining pages from different PDFs. It does not let you change text inside the document or add form fields. For those tasks, you would need a different tool.

Key Takeaways

  • Open any PDF by right-clicking it, selecting "Open With," and choosing Preview from the list.
  • The markup toolbar (look for the toolbox icon in the top right) gives you highlighter, pen, text box, and signature tools.
  • Use the sidebar on the left to see all pages as thumbnails, then drag pages to reorder them or delete ones you do not need.
  • Rotate, crop, or flip pages using the Tools menu, and your changes save automatically when you close the file.

Opening a PDF in Preview and finding the editing tools

Find the PDF file on your computer. Right-click it (or Control-click if you have a single-button mouse), then select "Open With" and choose "Preview" from the list. The PDF opens in a new window.

Look at the top right corner of the Preview window. You will see a toolbox icon (it looks like a small square with tools inside). Click it to open the markup toolbar. This toolbar contains the pen, highlighter, text box, signature, and magnifier tools. If you do not see the toolbox icon, go to the menu bar and click "Tools," then "Annotate" to turn on the markup toolbar.

On the left side of the window, you should see a sidebar showing thumbnail images of every page in the PDF. If the sidebar is hidden, click "View" in the menu bar and select "Thumbnails" to show it.

Marking up a PDF with notes, highlights, and drawings

Click the pen tool (looks like a ballpoint pen) in the markup toolbar to draw freehand on the PDF. Click and drag to draw lines or shapes. The color and thickness of the pen are shown in a small box next to the pen icon — click that box to change the color or line width.

Click the highlighter tool (looks like a marker) to highlight text in yellow, green, pink, or blue. Drag across the text you want to highlight. Like the pen, you can click the color box next to the highlighter to pick a different color.

Click the text box tool (looks like a capital A) to add typed text anywhere on the page. Click where you want the text to appear, then type. You can change the font size and color by clicking the small formatting box next to the text tool.

To add your signature, click the signature tool (looks like a cursive line). The first time you use it, Preview will ask you to sign on your trackpad or take a photo of your signature. After that, your signature appears whenever you click the tool and place it on the page.

Rotating, cropping, and removing pages

To rotate a single page, click on it in the left sidebar to select it, then go to "Tools" in the menu bar and select "Rotate Left" or "Rotate Right." The page turns 90 degrees in the direction you chose.

To crop a page, select it in the sidebar, then go to "Tools" and click "Crop." A rectangle appears on the page with handles at the corners and edges. Drag the handles to select the area you want to keep, then press Enter or click outside the rectangle to explore the crop.

To remove a page entirely, right-click on it in the left sidebar and select "Delete." The page is removed from the PDF. You can also select multiple pages by holding Shift and clicking, then right-click and delete them all at once.

Rearranging pages and combining PDFs

In the left sidebar, click on a page thumbnail and drag it to a new position. The page moves to wherever you drop it. You can drag multiple pages at once by holding Shift, clicking the pages you want to move, and then dragging them as a group.

To combine pages from two different PDFs, open the first PDF in Preview. Then open the second PDF in a separate Preview window. In the sidebar of the first PDF, right-click where you want to insert pages and select "Insert from File." Choose the second PDF, and Preview adds all its pages at that location. You can then delete any pages you do not need.

Saving your changes and exporting in different formats

Preview saves your changes automatically when you close the file. If you want to save a copy with a different name or in a different format, go to "File" in the menu bar and click "Export As." A dialog box opens where you can choose a new filename, location, and file format.

The format dropdown menu shows options like PDF, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF. Most of the time you will want to keep it as PDF. If you export as JPEG or PNG, the PDF becomes an image file — you can no longer edit the text or pages the same way, but you can share it more easily with people who do not have PDF readers.

If you want to save the original file without changes, go to "File" and click "Revert To" to undo all edits and return to the last saved version.

What Preview cannot do, and when to use a different tool

Preview cannot edit the text inside a PDF. If you need to change words, fix a typo, or rewrite a sentence, Preview will not let you do that. You would need a tool like Adobe Acrobat, PDFtk, or an online PDF editor.

Preview also cannot add form fields, create bookmarks, or password-protect a PDF. It cannot extract images or text from a PDF into a separate file. If your task requires any of these features, look for a more specialized PDF tool.

For most everyday tasks — marking up a document, rotating pages, removing blanks, or combining files — Preview is fast and does the job without learning new software.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo changes I made in Preview?

Yes. While the file is still open, go to "Edit" in the menu bar and click "Undo" (or press Command-Z). You can undo multiple steps by pressing Command-Z repeatedly. Once you close the file, the changes are saved and cannot be undone.

How do I change the color of my pen or highlighter?

Click the small colored box next to the pen or highlighter tool in the markup toolbar. A color picker appears. Click the color you want, then adjust the shade using the slider. The next time you draw or highlight, it will use the new color.

Can I add a comment or note that does not show up on the page itself?

Preview does not have a separate comments feature like Adobe Acrobat does. Any text or drawing you add appears directly on the page. If you need hidden comments, you would need a different PDF tool.

What happens if I accidentally delete a page?

If you have not closed the file yet, press Command-Z to undo the deletion. If you have already closed the file, the page is gone. Keep a backup copy of important PDFs before making changes.

Can I use Preview on an iPad or iPhone?

The iPad has a similar app called Books that can mark up PDFs, but it has fewer tools than the Mac version of Preview. iPhone does not have a built-in PDF editor. For mobile editing, you would need to use an online PDF tool or a dedicated app.